


A Trip Down Memory Lane

by Kaiisan



Category: One Piece
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Childhood Friends AU, Cute, Fluff, M/M, Met on the Train AU, One Shot, Random & Short, Short & Sweet, Short One Shot, i am trash, travel AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-01
Updated: 2015-12-01
Packaged: 2018-05-04 08:48:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5328011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaiisan/pseuds/Kaiisan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sanji recognises a familiar face on the train.</p>
<p>((AU based off of the cute couple sitting in front of me on the train a few days ago))</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Trip Down Memory Lane

**Author's Note:**

> Basically I was at Birmingham Comic Con about a week ago and on the train ride up this guy and girl had seats in front of me and even though they were complete strangers they were so cute together, talking about their interests and studies and where they'd like to travel in the future, they were so complimentary to each other I was honestly sad when the guy had to leave and they didn't exchange contact details, not even their names :(  
> So it stuck in my head and on the trip back from the Con I started writing this, and even though it hasn't stuck to how I thought it out I finished it and thought I'd post it ^_^

_It's good to be heading home,_ Sanji thought to himself as his train pulled into the station.  His week-long adventure to East Blue had been a good one; he won the cooking competition he had entered, and the following interview with the reporting news crew had gone well. With the prize money he finally had enough savings to finish paying the mortgage on his little two-bedroom house, and he can finally put all his efforts into his own business; namely the run-down diner he'd recently renovated into a cosy, welcoming café.

The train came to a stop, and as people around him stepped forward towards the doors a glimpse of green in his peripheral vision made him stop to look. When he couldn't find anything, he stepped into the train, of course only after allowing the women to step on before him. 

It took him a moment to find his seat, and he was glad he'd reserved it ahead of time, since the train was a lot busier than he'd expected. He had to do a double take once he got there though, because the green that he spotted earlier was in fact his seatmate.

Not only that,  but he's about 85% sure he knew him.

"Hey," he started off slowly,  lifting his suitcase to put in the overhead compartment. The man glanced at him, looking him up and down quickly, and made a quiet noise, which sounded like a 'hey' mixed with a grunt. 

"Not to be weird," Sanji sat down with a small thump. "But I don't suppose you went to The Going Merry Elementary School?"   
The green-haired man turned to him sharply, a deep furrow in his brows and a questioning look.

"Maybe, depends on why you're asking," was his answer,  and Sanji found it so familiar he grinned broadly.

"Didn't think you'd forget me so easily Marimo. I'm saddened." With a wiggle of his brows,  he waited for his childhood friend to remember him; with the mentioning of his nickname it didn't take long. He watched his face change.

"Holy shit,  Dart-brow," Zoro muttered, then smirked. The two of them shook hands and bumped fists lightly. They used to fight like hell as kids but that's the kind of friendship they had. Sanji moved away when they were in 3rd grade and they lost touch until now; 15 years later, on a train to North Blue.

“How’ve you been, Zoro?” Sanji sighed happily, making himself comfortable in his seat.

“Not bad,” his companion shrugged, looking out of the window as the train began to move. “How long have you been in East Blue for?”

“A week; I entered a little cooking competition,” Sanji made a little gesture, as if to say ‘no big deal’. “I won it, so..”

“Oh really? That’s awesome!” Zoro grinned broadly, making Sanji pause for a moment. When was the last time Zoro had smiled at him like that? How in the world had it become so cute?

While they catch up, Sanji studied Zoro as subtly as possible. He couldn’t guess the man’s height from sitting down; they were about the same height in their seats, despite Sanji’s long legs and torso. The moss-man was definitely broader, muscles pulling his shirt taut across his chest and shoulders, and the blonde was a tiny bit jealous. His hair was still a monstrous colour, but fluffier and seemed to suit his naturally sun-kissed skin. Zoro also had three piercings in his ear now, and he could see the beginning of a scar at the top of his left collarbone from how his shirt sat. He was definitely a roguishly handsome type of guy, and Sanji’s mind screamed internally how unfair it was.

After all, Zoro was Sanji’s very first male crush too.

It was a fleeting feeling; they were only eight after all. The only reason Sanji defined it as a ‘crush’ was because when the teacher talked about the future, he couldn’t picture his future without Zoro. And what he knew of love was that if you love someone, you want to be with them forever, so in other words he loved Zoro right? And then - a week later, no less -he was moving back to his hometown in North Blue, and within months he’d forgotten about his crush on his mossy friend. He’d missed him for a lot longer than that though, he missed having someone to fight with more than anything.

And then as puberty hit, he realised he liked guys as well as girls. It was confusing and anxiety-inducing at first, but by the time he’d had his first relationship with both genders - his first girlfriend broke up with him for calling her a ‘fragile’ flower, and she gave him a bloody nose for it; his first boyfriend didn’t think he was manly enough because he liked cooking and flowers and clothes, it was like dating a girl - he’d come to terms with it, as well as the fact that he couldn’t find anyone he wanted to date.

The train ride was eight hours. They talked a lot during that time: what school was like without each other, their old friends, what they decided to do in college, what they do now. Zoro took a physical course that landed him in the Marines for three years - which he’d just finished, and with the money he’d saved up from his years of service he’d decided to travel abroad and try his hands in some world-wide kendo competitions. Sanji had, naturally, pursued cooking and told his friend about his cafe, and the competitions he entered over the years. It was nice, being able to catch up and talk nicely with Zoro, to the point where he felt a kind of warm nostalgia surrounding them.

During a lull in their catching up, Zoro hummed under his breath.

“It’s weird, isn’t it?” he murmured, keeping his gaze in front of him. “Talking so.. normally with each other when all we used to do was fight.”

“We’ve grown up,” Sanji shrugged lightly. He felt the need to keep his voice as quiet as Zoro’s. “It’s not like we didn’t get along when fought, we were just brats back then.”

“Yeah,” Zoro breathed out, like he was trying to accept something in his mind. “We grew up.”

“We can keep in contact,” Sanji offered, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “Give me your Facebook details.”

“Sure,” Zoro took the phone from him and opened up the app; thankfully the train had free wifi and he could log onto his account easily. He sent the blonde a friend request, logged out and handed the phone back.

They talked back and forth for a while, but less animatedly, the need to catch up not as strong. There was still 3 hours of their train ride left.

Zoro’s phone beeped suddenly and he grumbled as he read it, tapping angrily on the screen.

“Problem?” Sanji mused.

“Just Perona being annoying.” was the reply, and the green-haired man locked his phone again.

Sanji’s eyes widened.  “Perona, the pink-haired girl obsessed with cute toys?” Zoro nodded. “What, she your girlfriend now?” Sanji wasn't quite sure how to feel about that. From what he could remember, Perona was a kinda gloomy girl that Zoro used to fight with as much as he did with him. Since when did they get along so well?

“Nah, she's just checking that I got on the right train.” Zoro sighed. He seemed to be pouting.

“Do you still get lost?!” Sanji laughed. He laughed harder as Zoro’s face went red and he started grumbling. “Well if your destination is North Blue city centre than you're on the right train.”

“Good.” Zoro muttered. He seemed to lighten up as Sanji pointed out that they were crossing the border into North Blue.

Two hours left.

Sanji got his laptop out, eager to pass the time without getting bored. Truth be told he felt a little awkward sitting next to someone he used to know so well, only to find they've become so different. Zoro must feel the same. He accepts the friend request, and despite the other man's protests he goes through the Marimo’s photos. He learns of funny stories behind some of the photos, and about the faces he doesn't remember or recognise. He scrolled onto another picture, one from a few months ago, and stopped. It's definitely Zoro, but there was another man in the picture, and he had his arm around him and was snapped kissing the moss-head’s cheek.

“Oh my,” Sanji gasped in his fake scandalous voice, making Zoro curse and slam his laptop shut.

“Shit.” Zoro cursed under his breath, running a hand over his face, turning away from the blonde to focus on the passing scenery.

“Soo… boyfriend?” Sanji inquired.

“Ex.” Zoro ground out reluctantly. He kept his eyes firmly on the window, and Sanji could see in the reflection that he looked a little awkward and also kind of nervous.

Was Zoro worried about what Sanji would think?

“Woops,” Sanji muttered under his breath. He pondered over what to say to make Zoro feel better.

“He kinda looks like my ex-boyfriend,” Sanji announced nonchalantly as he opened up his laptop again to take another look. It was true; there were some semblances. Zoro’s head snapped around to him so quickly he was certain the man pulled a muscle.

“What?!” he exclaimed, and Sanji couldn't tell if it was of of anger or shock.

“Yeah they kinda look alike. But I last saw him years ago so I wouldn't know if they look similar anymore.”

“Yeah okay but.. you're gay?” he murmured in disbelief.

“Bisexual actually,” Sanji corrected. “I've been with more guys than girls though. What about you?”

Zoro looked a little surprised still, but seemed to relax. “I'm panromantic, and demisexual. So gender doesn't matter to me, but I'm only physically interested in someone after I've become romantically involved with them for a long time.”

“That's understandable,” Sanji nodded, and gave Zoro a reassuring grin. “Thanks for telling me.”

Zoro grunted, a low hum in his throat.

The train announced its next stop, the second-to-last stop on the trip, and Sanji realised it was his. His house and café were in this town, and his old man's restaurant was in the main city centre where he used to live.

“I gotta go,” Sanji announced in a rush, packing his laptop away quickly and grabbing his suitcase from the overhead compartment. “This is my stop coming up.”

“You're not going to the city centre?” Zoro sounded slightly disappointed.

“I live in this town. Here,” Sanji grabbed a pen from his coat pocket and quickly scrawled his cafe's name and address across Zoro’s right forearm. “This is my work. Come visit sometime and I'll treat you.”

With a wink, Sanji rushed to the train exits and left, and he caught a glimpse of Zoro’s face looking for him out of the window as the train left again.

* * *

 

Sanji’s thoughts stayed on the green-haired man for days after arriving home, but he heard nothing from him. With the new contact over Facebook he saw the other man be tagged in a photo from a kendo competition in the main city, but that had already been a couple days old. The blonde was happy for him though, since he won.

It was late in the evening, an hour after his cafe's closing times, when the door to said café started to rattle. From the kitchen, he called out:

“I'm not open anymore! Come back tomorrow!”

The knocking continued, and Sanji reluctantly stomped through the doorway from his kitchen to the dining floor. He was ready to yell angrily at whoever was at the door, when he recognised him. He unlocked the door hurriedly and the knocker nearly dropped into his arms.

“Hey,” Zoro gasped, blinking owlishly up at the blonde while looking a little awkward and more than a little out of his comfort zone. “Soo… can I take you up on your treat offer?”

Sanji grinned.

 

 


End file.
